Larger wildfires in region stay calm
A propane tank on a travel trailer exploded Thursday (Sept. 3) at a residence on Twisp River Road, injuring two people and burning the trailer and an outbuilding, Okanogan County Fire District 6 Chief Cody Acord said.
The fire spread to nearby brush but was quickly contained.
“There were some structures above where that fire was that were initially threatened, but once we got access to the fire we were able to knock it down,” Acord said. He estimated the fire’s extent as 30 by 20 feet.
Firefighters from the Winthrop, Twisp and Carlton stations responded to the blaze on the 100 block of Twisp River Road after it was reported at 10:07 p.m. Thursday. Aero Methow transported two patients, Acord said.
The Fire District was on the scene for about three hours, then the state Department of Natural Resources took over management of the fire.
Wildfire update
Containment improved on the region’s larger wildfires after a week of rainy, cooler weather.
The size of the Ptarmigan Fire, burning near the Canadian border 20 miles northwest of Mazama, was unchanged since last week at 25,166 acres. Containment grew to 73%.
The fire’s cause was listed as undetermined on Aug. 31, but a U.S. Forest Service official said that report was in error.
Forest Service Public Affairs Specialist Deborah Kelly confirmed to Methow Valley News on Thursday (Sept. 3) the initial report, that the fire was started by lightning on July 17.
Harts Pass Road was open as of the latest fire update on Friday (Sept. 4), but trails north of Harts Pass remained closed, including the Pacific Crest Trail.
The Sinlahekin Fire remained most active on its western edge, along the east end of the Pasayten Wilderness. The fire’s extent was modified slightly downward since the previous week, to 166,084 acres as of Tuesday (Sept. 8). Containment improved to 67%.
Among the 1,145 personnel on the Sinlahekin Fire, most of the hand crews were working on containment near Disappointment Creek. Farther west, the fire had cooled in pervious hotspots, below Snowshoe Mountain and near the Iron Gate trailhead.
“Things are looking really, really good,” Southwest Incident Management Team 3 Operations Section Chief David Veater said Tuesday (Sept. 8) in a video on Facebook. “We’ve seen very little activity … over quite a few days now.”
More containment on Little Giant
The Little Giant Fire, the state’s largest wildfire, grew more than 200 acres to 171,526 acres over the past week but containment increased from 51% on Sept. 2 to 81% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, crews made progress on the Sisi Fire above Stehekin, strengthening a containment line along Stehekin River Road. That fire grew from 2,244 acres to 2,748 acres but was 11% contained as of Tuesday.
Various reports indicate the Kaiser Canyon Fire is 100% contained at 138,293 acres. All evacuation orders for the fire were lifted on Wednesday (Sept. 2). Lightning started the Kaiser Canyon Fire on July 16 and it grew by late July into the largest wildfire in the state at the time, threatening the town of Nespelem.
Fire teams anticipated a warming trend in the middle of this week, but temperatures in the Methow Valley are predicted to cool into the low 70s by Friday (Sept. 11), with a chance of showers over the weekend.
